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OverviewThe team will use several high-tech tools to study the smooth and corrugated top of the mountain as well as its steep slopes where landslides and faults expose rocks that are usually hidden deep beneath the seafloor. The scientists plan to investigate the processes that might have brought these deep rocks to the surface in the form of an unusually large and elevated undersea mountain.
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For two weeks on site, the scientists will dive to the surface of the Atlantis Massif in the deep submersible Alvin to observe and chart its structure and collect rock samples. During several of these dives, the scientists will deploy an instrument called a gravity meter to measure very tiny changes in the pull of gravity that hint at the nature of buried faults.
In addition, high performance sonar and video instruments will be towed from the research ship Atlantis. The sonar instrument images the surface of the undersea mountain using sound waves, similar to the way a camera uses light waves to make a photograph. The video instrument
Related ResourcesAt the expedition's height, the decks of R/V Atlantis will become a separate study in group dynamics as scientists, technicians and the ship's crew work in shifts around the clock to launch, operate and retrieve the various submersible vehicles; sort and study retrieved specimens; monitor scientific instruments and video screens; log data and transcribe their taped dictations during Alvin dives; strategize for the next days' activities; and somehow manage to find the time to eat and sleep!